Charlotte Hornets: Is PJ Washington worthy of an NBA All-Rookie team?
The Charlotte Hornets drafted a stud in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Is he worthy of an NBA All-Rookie team?
Ever since the start of the season, PJ Washington has been something special for the Charlotte Hornets. With his play so far, Washington could be considered one of the Hornets’ best rookies as of late.
Washington had many doubters over the offseason after he missed Summer League because of a healing ankle injury from college. However, he shocked many with his impressive play during the preseason.
During the preseason, Washington played so well that he earned himself a starting job for the Hornets. In his first career game, Washington finished with 27 points, and seven made three-pointers.
More from Swarm and Sting
- Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
- Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
- Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
- Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
- Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?
After Washington’s performance in that game, Hornets fans knew right away that he was something special. So far, Washington has played in 58 games, averaging 12.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Compared to other rookies, Washington is ranked 11th in points per game and is 1st in total rebounds with 316. To lead all rookies in total rebounds is impressive, as Washington has seen a lot of courtime.
If you dig more into Washington’s offensive stats among all rookies, he’s also ranked 8th in total made three-pointers with 86. This is an impressive amount of made threes by a frontcourt member.
Washington’s play has earned him a lot of minutes with the Hornets, and it’s led to him being the 4th ranked rookie in the league in minutes per game with 30.3.
In some games, Washington has gotten into foul trouble early in some games, which led to him missing some time. Washington has had four games this season where’s received 18.2 minutes or less due to early foul trouble.
When he’s on the court, Washington’s presence has helped lead his team to many victories. However, in those four games as mentioned above, the Hornets lost all of them when Washington was foul trouble.
With the impact that Washington has had on his team, it could raise the possibility of him being on one of the NBA’s All-Rookie teams. In the last ten years, the Hornets have only had two players make an All-Rooke team.
The last two players to be awarded these honors were Cody Zeller (2013-14 All-Rookie 2nd) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012-13 All-Rookie 2nd). However, the Hornets have only had four players make the NBA’s All-Rookie 1st team (Kendall Gill, Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Emeka Okafor).
With how Washington has played this season, he’s making a strong case for one of the frontcourt spots on the All-Rookie team. Washington has only a little competition, but his stats outweigh some of his opponents’.
Next. Four Key Decisions that Changed the Course of the Franchise. dark
As the NBA continues to discuss their next plan of action during the hiatus, the league could be looking at teams finishing their regular season schedule. If this does happen, it will help Washington’s campaign to be an All-Rookie member even more.